After a 13-6 loss in game one of the series, the Tiger’s offense exploded for 19 runs to take down No. 1 Ole Miss to even the series and improve their record to 14-5.
Despite the lopsided score, the Rebels opened up the scoring. Hayden Mullins, the Tennesean who had the surprise start on the mound Friday, lost his shutout in the third frame, as Ole Miss’ Justin Bench knocked an RBI double to left.
Mullins however, was able to stay in control of the game. He pitched five innings, with three strikeouts and only the one earned run.
"I was just trusting the guys behind me," Mullins said. "Our whole talk before the game was that we were playing for each other, not ourselves."
On the other side of the plate, Auburn made its mark on the Rebels starter, Derek Diamond. In the third, Sonny DiChiara knocked in Mike Bello on a sacrifice fly. Bryson Ware and Brody More knocked in three more runs on a pair of hits to give Auburn a 4-1 lead.
After Bello doubled off of Diamond in the fourth, he was immediately replaced by Mason Nichols, who didn’t fare much better. Blake Rambusch scored Bello from second, and Kason Howell advanced him to third, then DiChiara followed up with a towering home run over triple’s alley in left-center field.
Kason Howell (5) and Brody Moore (4) celebrate after scoring against Ole Miss on March 18, 2022 at Plainsman Park in Auburn, Ala.
Bello, a freshman from New Jersey, made a big impact in his first Auburn start. He had three hits, and scored four runs to go along with two RBIs. Over the season so far, he’s 5-for-8 at the plate.
"Just believing in myself and knowing I'm there with all the great leaders." Bello said. "I was just focused on playing my game and staying comfortable."
Meanwhile, the Auburn bullpen managed to keep the Rebels quiet. Tyler Drabick, Chase Allsup, and Nate LaRue combined for 4.0 IP, four strikeouts, and allowed no extra-base hits.
The top of the lineup, featuring Rambusch, Howell, and DiChiara, combined for six hits and 11 RBIs. Ryan Dyal, catching and batting cleanup, also improved his numbers. He drew three walks and scored a run in the third.
"We were relentless offensively," said Auburn head coach Butch Thompson. "I want our guys to compete every at-bat, and that's what we saw tonight. Up and down the lineup, we did a ton of work. This is huge. I have a lot of confidence in our squad. Tomorrow, we have a chance to win a SEC series, and that's always big."
Decisive game three will take place on Saturday, with first pitch set for 2 p.m. CST.
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Dylan Fox, Junior in Civil Site Design Engineering, joined The Plainsman as a sports writer in Spring 2020. From Geneva, IL.
